Minutes from the March 9th and April 13th meetings of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
Zimfest News Blog
Zimfest Registration Updates
Greetings all,
The Zimfest organizers have been gratified to see the large numbers of registration and new memberships rolling in – we are looking forward to a large and joyous gathering at CWU this summer! Some updates:
- We see from a glance at the Workshop grid that many workshops are already full, and a large number of them are marimba workshops! We will be evaluating in the coming days and weeks how we might add workshops, or increase enrollment in some, but in the meanwhile, please explore ALL our workshop offerings. If you have only taken marimba workshops in the past, consider a beginning workshop in hosho, drumming, or different types of mbira. You need NO experience to participate in song, or dance workshops!
- We encourage everyone, no matter what type of instrument you have been learning, to sign up for a Cultural Presentation in order to deepen your knowledge of Zimbabwean culture and traditions. Zimfest considers these so important that we charge less for them! We have compiled a list of presentations and instruments new to Zimfest 2025 here.
- We regret to inform you that one of our long-awaited Zimbabwean guest teachers, Innocent Musafare Mutero, has been denied his visa in South Africa and will be unable to come to Zimfest. We have been working hard to replace his workshops, all intermediate marimba classes. If you were enrolled in one or more of his workshops, you should have received a message informing you of what to do in order to remain in the replacement workshop. Although most of his workshops were full, the replacement teachers have all agreed to allow a higher number of students, so there are currently openings in these workshops. A summary of the workshop changes can be found here.
Happy hunting!
Festival Coordinator Claire
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Zimfest Registration is Open!
Greetings all,
We are so pleased to announce that registration for Zimfest 2025 is open as of midnight May 1 for Zimfest Association members, and May 3 for non-members. Non-members will pay a $15 registration fee (which is waived for paying members).
- Go to the How to Register page on the website for complete instructions and a link to the registration system (RegFox). There you will be able to take out a new membership or verify your existing membership number in order to register and pay for housing at our host university, tent camping, meal plans, workshops and concert tickets.
- The Zimfest website gives information about On- and Off-Campus housing as well as Dining, Concerts, Festival events and so forth. Browse the website so that you know what you want to sign up for before registering.
- You can view details about workshops and teachers in the Workshops menu on our website. The Workshop Grid is now visible, a convenient look at the workshop schedule throughout the weekend.
- Housing in the Central Washington University dorms we have been allocated is mostly in double rooms, so you may wish to take advantage of our Roommate Request Board if you have rented a room and need someone to share with. As festival time gets closer, you may wish to use the Ride Board to find someone to share gas costs with.
- And last, but certainly not least, be sure to sign up for one or more volunteer shifts on the Volunteer Sign-up page. Zimfest runs on volunteer energy, and we all need to pitch in!
A Big Thank You to the Tech Committee, namely Jake Roberts for setting up our registration system, Nora Holmquist for creating the teachers and workshops portal display, and Larry Israel for building and maintaining the Zimfest website.
Best regards,
Festival Coordinator Claire
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Zimfest Workshop Schedule Published
Greetings Zimfest-ers,
Announcing the publication of the Zimfest 2025 teachers and workshops schedule!
We have been delayed by technical glitches, and you will see that photos of the teachers are not all accessible yet, nor is there a convenient view of the workshop grid. There is however, a complete list of all workshops sortable by session, teacher, topic and skill level, all thanks to our tech whiz Nora H.! Expect a viewable grid within the next few days, as well as Directions on How to Register, and the proposed Concert Schedule!
Those who want to ensure they get into the workshops of their choosing may wish to check that they have paid for Zimfest memberships in order to waive the registration fee and have registration open to them two days before it opens for non-members. Hint: it will speed things up to have your membership number handy!
We are still aspiring to open registration for Zimfest members on May 1.
Happy spring,
Claire (Zimfest Coordinator)
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Zimfest Updates
Greetings all,
- The Zimfest Concert Programming team has built a tentative concert schedule and sent out initial emails with proposed performance times to the contact people for all the US-based bands and ensembles. Please check your spam folders and write to performers[at]zimfest[dot]org if you have not received your notification. We know that many of the band members also take workshops and want to know their performance time before registration opens. If we do not hear from you within a week we will assume your assigned performance time works for your band.
- Publication of the workshop schedule is targeted for April 22. Around that date we will be sending more formal performance notifications, with a link to sign your contract/agreement online.
- Reminder to accepted teachers who have been sent acceptance letters with links to contracts – please sign by July 1! If you have not received the email with your letter, please check your spam folders before writing to teachers[at]zimfest[dot]org.
- And last but not least, we introduce our accepted Zimbabwean cultural educators for Zimfest 2025 on the Festival Overview page! As always, actual attendance at Zimfest is dependent on visas being approved. Wait times for visa interview appointments in the US Embassy in Harare are longer than ever, so we are doing our best to expedite the interviews of those applying in Zimbabwe. We ask you to send us and them some help from the ancestors!
Until next time,
Zimfest Coordinator Claire and the Organizing Committee
Music Dancing Across Borders
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Marketplace Vendors and Teachers Info
Greetings Zimfesters and Friends,
Letting you know that:
- Vendor booth applications are now open for the Zimfest 2025 African Marketplace at CWU. Please read the Vendor Information page for info on rates charged for booths, tables and chairs; the link to the application is on the same page. The deadline is July 17. Applications received after that date will be charged a late fee and may not be able to rent tables and chairs.
- The Teachers and Workshops team has completed the monumental task of generating a workshop schedule featuring 26 teachers presenting almost 80 cultural and musical workshops! Teachers have been sent acceptance letters listing their scheduled workshops and times as well as a link to the Contract Website to sign their agreement and read the Leadership document. We ask that you let us know if you find any inaccurate information or time conflicts, and request (insist!) that you sign your contract or agreement by July 1.
- Target dates as shown here are: April 22 for publishing the workshop schedule; May 1 registration opens for Zimfest members and; May 3 registration opens for all.
Back to work (no April Fool’s joke!),
Claire and the OC
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January and February Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the January 12th and February 9th meetings of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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Zimfest Updates & COVID Policy
Greetings Zimfest community,
- The ZA Board, aware that COVID-19 infections could surge at any time, has come up with a policy for Zimfest 2025 based on personal responsibility and the creation of a safe environment for all. The policy has been posted here on the Zimfest website.
- A core feature of the policy is that workshop teachers may either require masking or encourage the voluntary use of masks in their classes. In order for masking requirements to be known ahead of time, the organizing committee will be writing to all accepted teachers to indicate their preferences as soon as possible. Teachers, you can assist in this process by writing teachers[at]zimfest[dot]org with your stated preference. If we do not hear from you, we will assume you do not want to require masking in your class(es).
- On another topic, we have been informed that there is a wheelchair lift and small number of ADA rooms in the dorms we have been allotted. See Disabled Access for further information. If any wheelchair-bound Zimfest participant wishes to rent one of these rooms, please write to registration[at]zimfest[dot]org before June 15, 2025.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Festival Coordinator Claire
Music Dancing Across Borders
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Zimfest and Accommodation Updates
Greetings Zimfest community,
- We are happy to announce that we have located a reasonably-priced hotel in Ellensburg that promises a group discount if enough Zimfest attendees stay there. The Red Lion Hotel Ellensburg is at 1700 S. Canyon Road off I-90 about 2.7 miles from the CWU Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC). If ten rooms are rented by Zimfest participants, each will receive a 10-15% discount (current undiscounted price for a room with queen bed is $105). Please call 509-925-9800 and let them know you are with Zimfest 2025. Zimfest cannot offer any troubleshooting help should you encounter any problems, but please post a comment on this blog post if you make a reservation with them. Thanks to John Hatten for the many phone calls he made to bring this opportunity to you!
- Zimfest 2025 teacher and performer applications closed as of February 28 and the Organizing Committee is hard at work sorting through applications, making determinations about acceptances and setting up the workshop schedule. Accepted teachers can expect to hear from us in late March, and accepted performers shortly thereafter.
- We plan to open applications for Zimfest vendors and non-profit stands by April 1, and have published the African Marketplace and Information for Vendors pages on the website. The Marketplace and outdoor stage will be located in a grassy, shaded area outside the northeast corner of the SURC.
More news coming soon!
Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator
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Zimfest News
Greetings all,
- Introducing the Zimfest 2025 artwork below and in the form of a Save the Date card/flyer that you can download from the Overview page (scroll down) and share. Thanks to Karin Rau for the original artwork she sent us in 2023!
- We have been slowly but steadily receiving applications to perform and/or teach at Zimfest 2025 but we know there are still folks out there who are procrastinating! There is less than one week to go until the February 28 deadline!
- Webmaster Larry Israel and myself, with the help of volunteers, have been busy populating the zimfest.org website with informational pages to help you plan your Zimfest 2025 visit. Need information on Off-campus Housing and Dining? Want ideas on things to do Around Ellensburg?
Music Dancing Across Borders
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Reminder – Zimfest 2025 Applications Close Feb 28
Greetings all,
Happy February!
The Zimfest Organizing Committee has been gratified to see a number of familiar and not-so-familiar Zimbabweans submitting applications during the month of January, and we are working hard to determine who we can invite. But where are the applications from teachers and performers resident in the US?
Performer application info and a link to the actual applications is here on the website.
Teacher application info and an application link is here. Once you have submitted a teacher application, you will be sent a link to propose one or more (in-person) workshops. The workshop proposals are a crucial part of your application.
Thanks!
Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator
Music Dancing Across Borders
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Zimfest 2025 Lodging and Volunteers Update
Dear Zimfest community,
Breaking News from our host at Central Washington University: CWU Conference Services has made more dorm rooms available to us for Zimfest 2025, so that the total exceeds the usual numbers of rooms we have rented in the past. Thus, fewer people need to look for alternatives off-campus. The dorms are not air-conditioned (be prepared) but each room has a microwave and mini-fridge (yay)!
There are plenty of dry camping (tents only) spaces in a shaded area at the Kittitas Valley Event Center (aka the rodeo grounds). The walking distance from there to the dining hall in the Student Union (SURC) is approximately the same as from the dorms to the SURC.
Urgent Volunteer Need – We are still searching for a graphic artist who can use the winning design to create a Save the Date Card, Facebook banner and tee shirt design. Job description available on request; please write to volunteers[at]zimfest[dot]org if you can help.
Best regards,
Claire (Festival Coordinator)
Music Dancing Across Borders
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